Sam Neill to Star in AMC's The Son

The Jurassic Park star will play the lead in The Son, AMC’s upcoming multigenerational drama about a family witnessing the birth of the Lone Star State, TVLine has learned.

Neill’s character, Eli, is the patriarch of the McCullough clan who was kidnapped and raised by the Comanche tribe and applies what he learned among the Native Americans in his present-day business dealings. Per the official character description, Eli “was born on the day Texas became an independent republic, earning the nickname ‘First Son of Texas’ and is a relic of the Wild West, uneasy with the inexorable taming of Texas and the uncertain future of his legacy.”

The 10-episode series is based on Philipp Meyer’s novel and will be written and executive-produced by Meyer, Lee Shipman, Brian McGreevy and Kevin Murphy; AMC Studios and Sonar Entertainment will produce. Murphy also will serve as showrunner.

The series’ cast also includes Sydney Lucas (Broadway’s Fun Home), who will play Eli’s “strong-willed, tomboy” granddaughter Jeannie, who chafes at the generally held idea that she will marry well and have children.